Chairman

Linda Chavez is Chairman of the Center for Equal Opportunity. She also writes a weekly syndicated column that appears in newspapers across the country and is a political analyst for FOX News Channel. Chavez authored Out of the Barrio: Toward a New Politics of Hispanic Assimilation (Basic Books 1991), which the Denver Post described as a book that "should explode the stereotypes about Hispanics that have clouded the minds of patronizing liberals and xenophobic conservatives alike." National Review described Chavez's memoir, An Unlikely Conservative: The Transformation of an Ex-Liberal (Basic Books 2002), as a "brilliant, provocative, and moving book." Chavez's latest book, Betrayal: How Union Bosses Shake Down Their Members and Corrupt American Politics (Crown Books, 2004), describes how unions divert hundreds of millions of dollars into political campaigns, often without their members' knowledge or permission, and the public policy consequences that ensue. In 2000, Chavez was honored by the Library of Congress as a "Living Legend" for her contributions to America's cultural and historical legacy. In January 2001, Chavez was President George W. Bush's nominee for Secretary of Labor until she withdrew her name from consideration.

Chavez has held a number of appointed positions, among them Chairman, National Commission on Migrant Education (1988-1992); White House Director of Public Liaison (1985); Staff Director of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (1983-1985); and she was a member of the Administrative Conference of the United States (1984-1986). Chavez was the Republican nominee for U.S. Senator from Maryland in 1986. In 1992, she was elected by the United Nations' Human Rights Commission to serve a four-year term as U.S. Expert to the U.N. Sub-commission on the Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities.

Chavez was also editor of the prize-winning quarterly journal American Educator (1977-1983), published by the American Federation of Teachers, where she also served as assistant to AFT president Al Shanker (1982-1983) and assistant director of legislation (1975-1977).

Chavez serves on the Board of Directors of ABM Industries, Inc., Pilgrim's Pride, and IDT Capital, a subsidiary of IDT Corporation, as well as on boards of several non-profit organizations. Chavez is also active in the Republican Party and chairs the Latino Alliance, a federally registered political action committee.

Chavez was born in Albuquerque, NM, on June 17, 1947, received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Colorado in 1970. She is married and is the mother of three sons. Her son Rudy serves as Executive Director at the Center for Equal Opportunity. She currently lives in Purcellville, Virginia.

Executive Director

Rudy Gersten is Executive Director of the Center for Equal Opportunity. Mr. Gersten graduated from the University of Maryland in 2000, majoring in Government and Politics with a minor in Criminology and Criminal Justice. He began working for the Center for Equal Opportunity in the summers of '98 and '99, and joined CEO full-time in February of 2001. From 2001 to 2007, Mr. Gersten served as Director of Operations in charge of CEO accounting and office management. In January 2008, he was promoted to Executive Director. He currently lives in Bethesda, Maryland.

President & General Counsel

Roger Clegg is President and General Counsel of the Center for Equal Opportunity. He focuses on legal issues arising from civil rights laws--including the regulatory impact on business and the problems in higher education created by affirmative action. A former Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Reagan and Bush administrations, Clegg held the second highest positions in both the Civil Rights Division (1987-91) and in the Environment and Natural Resources Division (1991-93). He has held several other positions at the U.S. Justice Department, including Assistant to the Solicitor General (1985-87), Associate Deputy Attorney General (1984-85), and Acting Assistant Attorney General in the Office of Legal Policy (1984). Clegg is a graduate of Yale University Law School (1981). He currently lives in Fairfax, Virginia.